Former Oakland Raiders head coach Bill Callahan has denied an allegation by two of his star players that he “sabotaged” the team in Super Bowl XXXVII by making a late change to the game plan. In a statement released by NFL.com, Callahan called the comments of former Raiders Tim Brown and Jerry Rice “…ludicrous and defamatory.”

Last weekend, Brown suggested Callahan hated the Raiders so much when he coached the team that he threw the title game against Tampa Bay in 2003 to let his former boss, Jon Gruden, win. Rice supported Brown on Tuesday.

Callahan, who is currently the offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, asked for a retraction. He partially received one on Wednesday morning when Brown recanted on the allegations while being interviewed on the ‘Dan Patrick Show.’

“I have never said that he sabotaged the game,” Brown said. “…The media hears ‘sabotage’ and ‘Bill Callahan’ and ‘throwing the football game,’ now they’re saying ‘Throwing the football game’ and that terminology was never used. But that wasn’t the intent.”

Brown further explained that his comments were made in defense of Raiders center Barrett Robbins, who left the team the day before Super Bowl XXXVII and missed the game. Robbins had mental illness issues, which he continues to struggle with since leaving the game. Brown suggested Callahan’s game planning triggered Robbins’ incident at the Super Bowl in 2003.

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